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30 Things

Everyone is sharing 30 things about them that they haven’t blogged about before…here’s my contribution since I think these are super interesting to read!

I went to private school, but not the fancy boarding school type. The small, church school type where you wore uniforms and memorized all the Bible verses.

I have a new found obsession with leggings. Like Lularoe type or knocks offs. I’m not picky. If they’re soft and cute, I’m down.

All the colors!

The main reason I started riding was because when I was 10 or so my friend’s older sister was horse crazy (and hateful) and I wanted to have something on her, so I talked my parents into letting me take lessons, something her parents wouldn’t let her do. This girl literally locked me and her little sisters in a closet for hours at a sleepover before her mom noticed (?!), so she had it coming. Luckily, I actually liked horses once I got into it…hahaha.

I like wine, but I’m stupid picky about it. If it is remotely dry, I’m not interested. I only drink sweet wines like a reisling or moscato.

We had goats and sheep growing up. Not a legit herd like we were goat or sheep farmers, but we ended up with a single twin from other farms that the mother’s wouldn’t take and bottle fed them. We did breed the goats and have our own baby goats, which was fun when they were little, but the novelty ran out for me when it was hard to move them around without tortilla chips (that they LOVED) or some other food as bribery.

One of these is not like the rest…

I have an unhealthy obsession with Taco Bell. #sorrynotsorry

When we bought Robin (when she was a weanling and I was 12), my parents also bought my brother a weanling named Toby. When he was nearly three, we discovered Toby had an undescended testicle and the vet told us he’d have to be castrated at the vet hospital so my parents sold him to avoid the expense. We found out the next year that he impregnated a lesson horse at the barn where they were temporarily boarded and my instructor was floored when they found a foal in the middle of her pasture. She’d never found them together or either of them out, so when have no idea when the conception happened, but Toby was the only thing that had been on the farm with testicles of any sort in ages. His daughter’s name is Surprise and belongs to a friend of mine now. She’s a decent horse (though half TWH and half QH), but managed to get herself knocked up on accident as well.

I’ve only had two cars in my life, a Cavalier I got when I was 16 and my current Elantra hatchback. My dad wanted me to get something sporty when I was in high school but I’ve apparently always been practical and wanted 4 doors and good fuel mileage.

The best money I’ve ever made (based on an average hourly rate) was when I was waiting tables at a minor league ball park while I was in college. That either says little for my current state job or a lot for the doctors and lawyers I waited on in the box seating that were incredibly generous. You decide. 😉

I’m a picky eater and hate all raw veggies really. I don’t eat salads. The texture gets to me mostly. I have adapted to and love tomatoes! I grow my own during the summer. My husband gives me a hard time because we grill steaks a lot and I make him grill me tomatoes at the same time to eat with my steak. Ironically, tomatoes are the only veggie he doesn’t like.

I wanted to go to interior design school when I was in high school but my parents discouraged the idea because there isn’t really a need for it in our area and they didn’t see me moving away from home. I still love decorating and enjoyed working on our fixer upper for that reason.

I have the same barn coat I’ve had since I was 12. It’s a burgundy Carhartt my parents bought me in an adult size to make it last longer. It hung down to my knees at the time, but she’s still going strong over 15 years later…

The coat made it into this shot of me and Robin my senior year. She was 4.

I grew up listening to country music, but, outside of a couple exceptions, avoid it like the plague now. I prefer alternative rock and have recently cultivated a fondness for some EDM type stuff oddly enough.

I’m not much of a gardener, but my mom is. Every year she comes over and weeds/plants/mulches my flower beds. I help, but mainly by cleaning up as she goes and pouring mulch. She bought me knockout rose bushes because they’re pretty all summer and require no maintenance. She also gives me whatever plants she needs to get rid of in her yard, so I blame most of the maintenance on her anyway, because otherwise I’d just have grass.

I’m not remotely athletic and I don’t enjoy sports. I was forced to play volleyball my senior year of high school due to a lack of interested girls to make a team (see #1 about small school…). I wasn’t required to go to practice, only games, and was basically a warm body standing on the court and staying out of my classmates way. I skipped a lot of games for horse stuff and my equally non-interested best friend was also drafted, though she enjoyed it more than I did.

The only sport I ever enjoyed playing was badminton. I played from age 16-18 with a senior citizen league at the rec center in town. My guy friend and I that played became skilled enough that some of the senior citizens tried to get us kicked out. Since we were 18 by that time, and the rules only stipulated that you had to be 18 and over, they were unable to, but eventually got their way because when the new rec center was built they moved the time slot to 10 am or something crazy that kept us from attending due to school/work obligations. If I had friends interested I would totally set up a net in the barn in the evenings…

I taught business English part time at a local factory as professional development for their employees immediately after I graduated from college. This was good because it showed me that I didn’t want to teach English full time, and I thus didn’t bother with grad school.

I’ve never broken a bone. *knocks on wood*

My first job was at a clothing store that specialized in men’s dress wear. I worked there until the store closed down and the mall we were in closed down shortly thereafter. It was the perfect first job and the five of us that worked there all felt like family.

I had a hamster and two guinea pigs while I was away at college. Going from having a cat, dog and two horses to no pets was a struggle for me. The hamster died early on and I gave the guinea pigs away when I graduated and moved back to the farm.

There was once another barn cat who randomly showed up like Cheddar. His name was Simon, but unfortunately he left after a month or two.

Simon

I watch a ton of TV, both with and without my husband. I love Jane the Virgin, several TLC shows and the Bachelor shows. My husband does not. He and I watch a ton of other shows together, including Scandal, Designated Survivor, The Last Man on Earth, Nashville, etc. We DVR everything though, so most of our TV watching is done before bed and most of our shows don’t air during the summer when I’m at the barn more.

The best concert I’ve ever been to was a Fitz and the Tantrums show. SO much energy. College roommate and I got there early enough to grab balcony seats so we could watch the wild downstairs (and have seats…lol). There was also a confetti canon. FATT is amazing live. Second favorite was Sara Bareilles. These two were the summer after my dad passed away, and he and I both loved Sara Bareilles, so it was a really meaningful show and I got teary eyed on several occasions. She’s also amazing live. Would love to see both of these again without hesitation.

I went to Virginia Tech for my bachelor’s degree and never went to a single sporting event during my years of attendance…which is apparently a sin.

Most of my furniture/decor is either thrifted, antiques inherited from my dad, or yard sale finds. The only new/modern items in our house are our couch, recliner, mattresses, and a couple side tables in the living room that we use and abuse. I’m a coaster nazi in my house with all of my tables (minus the abused ones in the living room…). I’m generally a really laid back person, but so help me, I’m protective of my furniture.

I only bought Copper because I wanted to show at Appaloosa breed shows with my friends. I’ve only ever had him at two of those and now I’m not really friends with anyone who shows Appaloosas anymore, so he’ll be my last one of those…

Baby Copper…not much older than Joey is now.

I had a ton of hamsters as a kid. My brother and I each got the most amazing hamsters first, his was Chip and mine was Sweetie. They made all other hamsters pale in comparison. If I knew I’d get another one like either of those, I’d get another hamster right now. They got out of their cages in the middle of the night and my mom wouldn’t realize it until one came and sat on her foot while she was using the bathroom. They always came to us when they were loose in the house. It was some weird hamster magic.

I never learned how to ride a bike. Everyone always compared it to riding a horse and I’ve always countered with “a horse holds itself up.” Except sometimes they don’t.

My first horse, Logan, fell down with me an absurd number of times.

This wasn’t my first blog, my first one was a sad attempt at a home restoration blog when we bought our first house. It is still out there but terribly out of date. I also tried to blog solely about remodeling the horse trailer…then I gave up…then I sold it…

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Hi, I’m Sarah and I own a farm in rural SWVA where I board a couple horses and keep my small (but growing) herd. I use this space to chronicle my life with my four legged friends, both equine and canine and am glad to have you tune in! :)

Recent Posts

Paige is my most reliable mount. She is a 18 year old American Quarter horse. She is the mother of my APHA colt by Hollywood Reminic and the reason I still enjoy horses.

Copper is the only gelding in my personal herd. He is a 11 year old Appaloosa who is remarkably versatile. We’ve fought Lyme disease and some other weird lameness issues the last couples years, but hope to try our hand at dressage one day.

Joey is a 2017 dunskin colt by Hollywood Reminic and out of my AQHA mare, Paige. I am very lucky to have this little guy to bring along and I look forward to the journey.

Robin is a 16 year old breeding stock Paint mare that has been my big pet since she was a weanling and I was 12. If you’re asking who really owns the farm? It’s this mare. ;)

Emma, Chloe, Russell, and Poppy are the barn clowns. These mini donkeys have more personality than ears, if you can believe that. Poppy is Chloe and Russell’s 2017 baby.

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